Can You See Me?: A powerful story of autism, empathy and kindness

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It meant so much to me to read about this from another person's perspective, and to see Tally's stress about trying to behave and keep self-control, but getting to points where she literally cannot restrain the explosive behavior that takes over.

Inspired by young coauthor Libby Scott's own experiences with autism, this is an honest and moving middle-school story of friends, family, and finding one's place. It’s extremely important these MG books are available for kids to read and gain an understanding about people that may be around them and how they may/may not think/feel/act differently - and that’s ok! My daughter is 9 and just been diagnosed with ASD, Her brother 8 has ASD and Tourettes, they are both so different, I came across this while looking for other books so support my daughter with Understanding how Autism effects her and help her understand its a gift not a burden.When they are going to the fair Tally's dad asks her to come with him, but this means Tally feels stressed and can't follow the request even though she wants to go to the fair. When she starts her new school, everything is very big and overwhelming and she has to find ways to hide her autism, but what if she doesn't have to? For me it came out as what everyone thought was unexplained depression which I now know to be burnout. It features bullying, friendship, fitting in, staying true to yourself and showing that everyone is different in different ways, all of which are topics which affect every child as they move up to secondary school. Other then that it was a lovely book to help understand PDA from a child's point of view and a lovely story about how hard school is for any child and the extra difficulties of a girl with Autism as they are so different to how boys display.

Are the authors saying it would have been acceptable from him if it was directed at a kid who didn't yet have a diagnosis?This book is in good condition, it has been read and may have some minor imperfections such as a creased spine, small marks and signs of wear and tear to cover and pages, but it contains no major stain or significant damage and is in good all-round condition. but I do think the authors' intentions were to give people pause and make them think a little deeper about the subject, and I did do that. Most powerful of all is Tally’s ultimate realisation that autism is not something that needs to be hidden.

You guys are such a force for good and I am a passionate supporter of Indie booksellers, so I'm so happy this worked out well (I'd love to know how many books were sold if you have it to hand - it felt like quite a lot!Tally clearly explains to the reader the state that she gets in, showing that she is not acting out for selfish reasons, but is suffering tremendously and cannot contain herself. Some of the more embarrassing extracts from her childhood and teenage diaries are used as the diary entries in her debut novel, Dandelion Clocks. Nell, her older sister, has given her lots of warnings about how she must control her urges and learn to cope. However, we are now a little further down the road and I suppose I am more accepting and more than ready to understand my daughter in any way I can.

We also completely brush over the fact Nell made some really nasty comments like Tally being "broken" - and considering this is an internal struggle I have often dealt with to not see that really get properly addressed was heartbreaking.I wouldn't have even rated this two stars, if I didn't think it was good to feature diverse characters in children's literature! The diary entries mainly focus on charting her anxiety levels and explaining terms and concepts related to autism, often breaking them down into pros and cons. I know some people found Tally really frustrating but I think it is so important for Autistic kids to have this representation and be able to see that someone else has experienced what they do. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. She is also autistic, and after her mum Kym shared a piece of Libby’s writing online, Libby and her writing went viral.